The league leader secures playoff berth with eight games to spare

Three days after securing qualification for the EuroLeague playoffs with a victory in Istanbul, Real Madrid became the first team today to secure a spot in the quarterfinals of the League with eight games to spare. They had already achieved this before the game started due to Surne Bilbao Basket's defeat, but they confirmed it with a win on the court of Recoletas Salud San Pablo Burgos, their twelfth consecutive victory in this competition. Hezonja (20 points and 22 PIR in 20 minutes), Procida (15 and 15), Len (10 points and 10 rebounds), and Maledon (10 and 18) were the standout players for the team, in which Feliz, Deck, and Tavares rested today.

It took Scariolo's men two minutes to settle into the game and start performing. A 5-2 start by the home team was followed by a 16-4 madridista run in the next three minutes, featuring four three-pointers, two from Hezonja (10 points) and two more from Okeke (6). With our team doubling the score of San Pablo Burgos (9-18, min.5), the home side leaned on their bench and strong shooting percentages, especially near the rim, to keep pace with the offensive rhythm of the first quarter (20-25).

Parity
Madrid once again stretched their lead to 9 points (24-33, min.14), with solid contributions from Lyles and Almansa. However, that sense of control didn’t last long. They stalled offensively, lacking the three-point shot as a resource, and continued to allow too many points in the paint and offensive rebounds to the Burgos side. With contributions from Fischer, Happ, and Meindl, the home team took the lead after a 13-2 run in their favor. It was Campazzo who halted the local surge. He scored the last 8 points (one basket, two free throws, and two assists to Len), allowing the league leaders to head into halftime ahead (39-43).

Our team delivered another push after halftime. They were more aggressive defensively, closing the paint and reducing the home team's scoring. They regained their accuracy from beyond the 6.75 m line and took control again, led by 7 consecutive points from Hezonja (10 in this quarter) and a three-pointer from Okeke, mirroring the start of the game. This time, Scariolo’s men were more consistent defensively and maintained a lead between 9 and 13 points for the second part of the third quarter (55-66, min.30).

Madrid accelerates towards victory
Procida, hitting two three-pointers at the start of the final period, brought more calm to our team, whose dominance continued to grow along with the lead, which reached 20 points on several occasions. Madrid definitively broke the game open in the final stretch with excellent defense and an offense where everyone contributed, highlighted by the playmaking of Maledon (10 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists), the Italian forward (15), and Len. The center recorded a double-double (10 points and 9 rebounds) in a collective victory, their 24th in the league (78-94, min.40).

Recoletas Salud San Pablo Burgos-Real Madrid Statistics

Disclaimer: Translation generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies.